Fresh Ideas for Your Custom Tool Truck

Design Your New Truck to Keep Up With Tool Trends

Different routes require different trucks. Our custom tool truck customers have incorporated fresh ideas in their trucks for years to meet the needs of their customers. We recently sat down with our sales team to identify cutting edge considerations if you are thinking about a new tool truck soon.

Layout Refinements

Not every tool truck needs to carry three or more toolboxes. In the past, some customers have added a trailer or smaller tool truck dedicated to toolboxes. Even if you need the ability to carry three or more boxes on the truck, we can design and build a mobile retail center that can be removed (or added) as needed.

“The number and size of toolbox openings has been a real discussion point with customers in the past few months,” commented Paul Giese, Tool Truck Sales Specialist. “Trucks that have three box openings are often being ordered with a mobile retail center (MRC) for additional product display space when a box isn’t being displayed in that opening. We can even add lighting to the shelves like a conventional display shelf,” said Giese.

**ABOVE:** Street side tool box opening with custom Mobile Retail Center (MRC), undershelf LED lighting and aluminum floor protectors.

**ABOVE:** Large 3-shelf Mobile Retail Center with integrated lighting and swirl plate floor protector.

Recently, tool trucks are being designed with E-track in the toolbox openings. This allows additional product display shelving to be added as needed.

“Customers have been requesting E-track in the box openings and they have us build a few more shelves to add in there when not carrying an extra toolbox. The shelves are removeable and can be easily added or taken out to accommodate different boxes in the same space. It works out well for them,” said Ken Weis, Tool Truck Sales Specialist.

The overall theme is flexibility. From day-to-day or week-to-week, your needs with in your truck can and will change. LDV has been on the forefront of providing flexible displays. Our VersaFlex interior, featuring interchangeable display drawers and shelving, was the start of a trend toward increased flexibility in tool truck interiors.

**ABOVE & BELOW:** Our VersaFlex product display drawers revolutionized how Snap-on product was displayed in the store. Convenience and versatility make these drawers a great addition to any new tool truck.

LDV introduced our newest merchandising innovation, the Sliding Display, at the 2019 SFC Conference and it was a huge hit. The Sliding Display organizes your store by allowing you to mount several display bases to E-track, add the accessories to the base and showcase the products you want. Sixteen different accessories are available with even more in development. All easily changed and rearranged to fit your needs!

**ABOVE:** Another tool truck innovation: LDV’s Sliding Displays. We engineered these displays to take up less space on E-Track while having the flexibility to be configured any way you want inside your store.

**ABOVE:** Add one Sliding Display or several. Use one to create a dedicated promo items display. The ability for the display to slide-out closer to your customers allows them to see and touch the products easier than ever before.

Organize Your Store

The best looking mobile tool stores are the ones that are most organized. Consider adding slatwall to open wall areas to display all kinds of different products. There are numerous options for displaying product on slatwall from simple hooks and bins to custom displays for diagnostics and power tools.

“Another great idea for the store is getting the printer out of the way. Mount it on slatwall on a custom printer shelf in the workstation area to avoid giving up precious product display space,” said Weis.

**ABOVE:** Slatwall printer shelf shown with workstation window, brokens tool chute and more.

**ABOVE:** Slatwall diagnostic cradles are a great way to display Snap-on’s latest offerings.

Dealing with broken tools is another evolution we have seen in recent builds. We have been integrating tool chutes at the workstation that allow you to drop the tool into the chute which leads to a bin in an exterior storage compartment. This clean and convenient solution keeps unsightly broken tools out of your truck’s interior and makes getting them out of your truck so much easier.

**ABOVE:** Dual broken tools bins on a custom slide out tray. This makes emptying the bins really convenient and easy.

**ABOVE:** Another great way to deal with broken tools is to incorporate a dedicated drawer. The one shown here has two holes to slip tools into the drawer quickly without having to open the drawer each time. A dedicated broken tools drawer can also be designed with aluminum pull-out bins to ease emptying.

Another great way to get organized is the use of a socket center. We can integrate one of our custom powder coated socket centers with rows of magnets in the drawers. If you don’t want the full socket center, consider aluminum socket rails on the front of your shelving. Add a couple rows of magnets to display loose sockets, extensions, bits and universals and get them right out in front of your customers.

“The socket center is awesome,” says Sam Sottile, Tool Truck Sales Specialist. “We can build it with five to seven drawers, powder coat it red, black or both to help identify SAE and Metric product or even add a second one in the store. A lot of trucks are leaving LDV with a socket center on-board.”

**ABOVE:** Red powder coated 5-drawer Socket Center with magnets in the top 3 drawers.

Close-up of the chrome magnets that can be added to our Socket Centers.

It’s rare to see a truck leave our facilities without the inclusion of a few overstock drawers. These drawers are installed down near the floor and are a great way to keep your display space open for display and carry extra stock out of sight. Overstock drawers are also a great place to keep additional stock for popular items such as 14.4V cordless tools, extra batteries and more.

ABOVE: Overstock floor drawers shown with optional kick plates installed.

**ABOVE:** Our redesigned overstock floor drawer with the upgraded handle and optional diamondplate kick plate installed.

Constant Innovation

Great ideas start with you. Franchisees often come up with clever product display ideas and suggestions that we then pursue further. From the very first tool truck we built in 1977, we have been looking for ways to make tool trucks more functional, improve merchandising and display and give your customers a better buying experience.

We wondered: How can we take our 40-plus years building tool trucks and create a store that suits nearly everyone’s business and build it in less time?

Introducing our Stock Series Tool Trucks.

Want a functional floor plan but don’t want to wait for a custom truck? Our stock series tool trucks are offered on the most popular chassis with the most functional floor plans available. They are modern stores, incorporating our latest designs with lots of room for product, toolboxes and workspace. And we have them scheduled in production regularly to cut the lead time down for you.

Today’s tool trucks generate excitement for your customers while allowing you to organize your product offering. And our Stock Series tool trucks make buying a new store easier than ever before.

Is 2021 your year for a new store? Contact a Sales Specialist today to learn more.